


Amendment

by SailorChibi



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Age Play, Baby!Tony, Big Brother Peter Parker, Carrying, Civil War Team Iron Man, Cribs, Crying, Cuddling, Diapers, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Past Abuse, Infantilism, Jarvis (Iron Man movies) Lives, Little!Tony, No Endgame Spoilers, Non-Sexual Age Play, Not Clint Barton Friendly, Not Steve Rogers Friendly, Pacifiers, Panic Attacks, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Protective James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Protective Jarvis (Iron Man movies), Protective Pepper Potts, Protective Peter Parker, Protective Stephen Strange, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Daddy Issues, Tony Stark Has Self-Esteem Issues, Tony Stark has PTSD, World Change, alternate universe - littles are known, bottles, daddy stephen strange, daddy!stephen, discussion of non consensual age play, dual sets of memories, he forgot to omit age play, non-sexual infantilism, not wanda maximoff friendly, so now people all over the world have to contend with age play as a normal part of life, thanos forced tony into age play, the rogues pull some very not cool behavior, thumb sucking, tony is back into a corner here, when tony changed the world back
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-26
Updated: 2019-04-19
Packaged: 2019-10-16 07:29:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17545346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailorChibi/pseuds/SailorChibi
Summary: After the decimation, Thanos kidnapped Tony and forced him into a life of age play. Tony manages to get his hands on the Gauntlet to change things back, but it's been so long that he forgets to omit age play. Now everyone in the world has a dual set of memories: one of normal life before the change, and one of life where Littles and Caregivers were always a natural thing. Naturally in this new world, Tony is a Little.The real problem arises when the US government, and Steve Rogers, see this as a way to finally get Tony Stark under control.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was one of two commissions I was asked for where Thanos kidnaps Tony and forces him into age play, and, when Tony fixes things, he inadvertently forgets about the age play and it has an Effect on the world. Here's version **two**.

_LITTLE LIST MAKES BIG WAVES_

_The World Health Organization, in conjunction with several groups (see page 3 for a full listing), has affirmed that their classification list will stand. Bearing in mind that renewed research is being done to isolate the gene that causes a classification, this list comes alongside a close examination of several laws in the U.S. that have shaped how Littles are to be treated._

_“It was a fine line to walk,” said Governor Nancy White in a press release yesterday. “We have to keep in mind that technically […] Littles are physically adults, and we have to afford them the rights that any U.S. citizen is given […] but at the same time, for their own health and safety, we have to look at giving them the appropriate care. Our country was not set up for this to happen, but now that it has we’re trying to make the best of it._

_“We already had rules and laws in place, and the fact that all of us simultaneously remember how things were before doesn’t negate the fact that we still have to deal with this. And frankly, I think those laws came about for a reason. […] We are looking at history books, we’re looking at legal documents, we’re looking at everything. We’re asking for the public to have patience.”_

_When pressed, the governor added, “I do think, you know, that this is a better choice than the Decimation […] When I try to think seriously about the conflicting memories we all have, I do remember that moment of compelling grief when my daughter disappeared […] I would take just about anything over having to live a day without her.”_

_Several people criticized the governor’s statement for not taking into consideration all the changes. Political activist Jason Cartwright had this to say: “Yeah, of course she’s happy. Why wouldn’t she be? Nothing for her has changed. Her family is all normal. She doesn’t have to deal with it.”_

_Speculation over the laws, and potential amendments still to come, is running rampant. Right now, there is discussion over whether being a Little will be continue to be covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act, with the appropriate protection when it comes to employment, transportation, public accommodations, communications and access to state and local government programs and services._

_The Little classification list from the WHO is as follows:  
Baby – 0 – 24 months  
Toddler – 2 to 4 years  
Little Kid – 5 to 7 years  
Big Kid – 8 to 10 years  
Pre-Teen – 11 to 13 years  
Teen – 14 – 19 years_

_Already criticism over the terminology is arising, and it goes without saying that the list will be amended in the near future. However, the ages seem firm. A representative of the WHO had this to say:_

_“We looked at the data we’ve compiled and this is what makes the most sense based on everything we’ve seen. This is still a work in progress, but having a broader scale of classifications makes it easier for everyone […] We may see the terminology change and evolve as time goes on. Maybe it was okay before, but now that we all remember a different world, do I think calling a physical adult a ‘baby’ is the wisest choice of word? No. But we have to work with what we have for the time being, and what we have is a lack of appropriate terminology within the English language.”_

_There is no word yet on whether or not mandatory testing will continue. For most of us, we’ve already been tested between the ages of six and twelve, as per the Little Care Act, and those results are public information. The government continues to issue a firm ‘no comment’ stance on questions pertaining to testing._

_[continued on page 2]_

Peter’s heart thudded in his chest as he navigated to to the next page. His eyes skimmed over the rest of the article, but it wasn’t anything helpful. To his eye, it was just a bunch of meaningless opinions from people who felt like they needed to have a say in what was going on. Most of the important data, what mattered to him, was neatly categorized on the first page. He swiped to go back, half-hoping that the article might have miraculously changed in the past twenty seconds. No such luck.

He hunched his shoulders, taking a furtive look around the classroom. It was weird. He still had all his memories from the so-called old world. He could remember coming to class with Ned and Michelle and Flash and all of his other classmates. Peter had attended school with most of them since he was a kid. On the other hand, he had a conflicting set of memories from the 'new' world wherein about a quarter of his classmates had never actually come to school because they were Littles, and fell too young on the age range to be in high school.

Their school had offered access to the guidance counselor, but Peter hadn't bothered to go. For one thing, the guidance counselor was struggling just as much as the rest for them. For another, Peter had an extra secret on top of anything else that he couldn't risk anyone getting suspicious of. In the old world, he'd turned to dust in Tony Stark's hands. That memory lingered whether Peter wanted it to or not. Having another memory of a world where Thanos hadn't attacked, and Peter's field trip had continued unimpeded, didn't really help. There was no guidance counselor who could help him with that.

"Okay, class, let's get to their work." Their teacher strode into the room. "Get your math books, come on now."

Peter got his book out, and even opened to the right page, but his attention wasn't on the equations that the teacher was scribbling onto the board. He snuck another look down at the article on his phone and bit his lip, thinking about everything that had been going on at Stark Tower. The article didn't say anything about the Accords and what it meant for Littles, but Peter knew that this wasn't going to be good. Tony was trying to keep from telling him anything too bad, but Peter could read between the lines enough to know that there were going to be big problems in the very near future.

It was all the fault of the Rogues, he reflected. Following the change, people got all freaked out at the idea of Thanos and how easily life as they all knew it had been changed. In spite of Tony's reassurances that Thanos was dead and would never be a threat to Earth, public outcry had quickly turned in support of the Rogues. In the United States, at least, most people seemed to think that Captain America was capable of defending them. Peter knew that was complete bullshit, but as always the idiots who understood the least were the loudest.

The Rogues hadn't gotten off scott free, but as far as Peter was concerned they might as well have. The conditions of their pardons were private, but they were all still allowed back in New York. They were living at the tower for now, until the Compound was repaired - and since Tony was refusing to pay for it, Peter didn't know when that was going to happen. They could leave the tower whenever they wanted. They could go out at 2am for a Chinese food run! Not to mention the missions. Oh yes, the Rogues were now allowed out on missions too. The Avengers were back, if you were willing to believe Captain America.

Peter wasn't. Not when he'd overheard some of the hushed conversations Tony and Rhodes had been having when they thought Peter wasn't listening and no one else was around. He didn't know what had happened to Tony after the decimation in the old world, but Peter wasn't stupid. He'd figured out that there had been a fourteen month gap between the decimation and when this world came into formation. Peter had no memory of those fourteen months because he'd been dead, but he'd worked it out based on what he'd read fromt he internet. No one remembered seeing Tony Stark during those fourteen months, and Peter knew Tony had been left on Titan.

Only Thanos had known where he was.

The implications of that were something Peter tried not to think about too deeply, because it made him want to cry and throw a desk against the wall all at the same time. That wasn't as important as the fact that Tony was a Little in this new world, and that was causing a lot of big problems. Namely, that the Accords Council was pushing to have an amendment go through that would mean that, if Tony wanted to remain an active Avenger, he had to have a Caregiver. A Caregiver who was already an Avenger, someone who could supervise him out on the field.

As of this moment, the Avengers consisted of Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, War Machine, the Vision, Wasp, Ant Man and Iron Man. Spider-Man helped out on occasions, but he wasn't on the official roster and wouldn't be until he came of age. Of the Avengers, Captain America and Hawkeye were the only Caregivers. The Council would not accept a baseline human as as a substitute for a Caregiver - some bullshit about how only Caregivers were truly equipped to give Littles what they needed - and that meant Tony's options were severely limited. Peter honestly wasn't sure who would be worse as a Caregiver for Tony, but when the choices were Captain America or Hawkeye both spelled trouble.

Tony was a good man. Too good. He wasn't going to walk away from the Avengers when his presence could mean the difference between an innocent victim living or dying. The odds of him successfully blocking the amendment were slim to none, which meant that at some point in the near future.... well. Peter wasn't going to let that happen. Tony was terrified of Rogers, and Barton openly hated Tony. Neither of those were options. That's why Peter had a plan, which he was going to put into motion as soon as school was over. 

It seemed to take forever, but finally the last bell rang. Peter launched himself out of his chair and raced out the door, barely remembering to toss a wave back at his baffled looking friends. He ran towards the street. He'd looked at the address so many times that he knew exactly where to go. It would take a while to get there on foot, but luckily Peter had a much faster way of crossing the city.

Spider-Man landed outside the New York Sanctum. It looked like a normal building to the inexperienced eye and - well, actually it looked like a normal building to his eye too. But FRIDAY had promised him that this was where Dr. Stephen Strange, Sorcerer Supreme, lived. He quickly climbed the stairs and knocked on the door. It opened immediately, much to his relief. People were already starting to turn and look, their attention caught by the recognizable colors of his costume. Spider-Man quickly slipped inside and shut the door behind him.

The hall was empty. He wrung his hands together and called out, "Uh, Dr. Strange? I need to talk to Dr. Strange?" He pulled his mask off. There was no point in hiding his identity because Strange already knew who he was.

"Mr. Parker? What are you doing here?" Strange came around the corner at the top of the stairs, wearing a perplexed frown. Some of the tension in Peter's shoulder eased at the sight of him. It had been a while since he'd seen Strange, so he'd almost forgotten what kind of presence Strange carried around him: settled, calming, like Strange knew what he was going to do and how to do it.

"I have a problem. Well, Tony has a problem. And I think you're the only person who can do something about it," Peter said. 

Strange was quiet as he came down the stairs, only speaking once he got to the bottom. "Does Stark know you're here?"

"No," Peter said bluntly. "He'll probably be mad at me for coming here too, but frankly I think we're way past me being worried about that." 

"I see. Well, what can I do for you, Mr. Parker?"

Peter gathered his courage. "You're a Caregiver, aren't you?"

Both of Strange's eyebrows rose. "Yes."

He'd thought so, but hearing the confirmation was a relief. Peter gave a grim nod. "Then we need to talk."


	2. Chapter 2

When the world snapped back to normal, or rather, what passed for the _new_ normal, it took Tony a little while to figure out where he went wrong. He spent the first few days holed up in his bedroom, trying to re-orient himself. After all, he had two sets of memories to contend with now. One from a life that had ended up with him being kidnapped by Thanos, and the other from a life where he’d been a Little from day one.

By the time he felt like he could leave his room without having a complete meltdown, Tony discovered that the rest of the world had moved on without him. No one seemed to be quite sure _how_ the change had happened. There was a lot of discussion over whether or not they would be able to change things back. Experts were being brought in to consult. 

The ex-Avengers were being brought back.

Tony wasn’t sure how to feel about that one. Well, that wasn’t quite true. He spent several hours alternating between hyperventilating and throwing up, but JARVIS was the only one privvy to that. Then he picked himself up, took a very long, hot shower, donned a diaper and a brand new tailored suit, and went out to try and deal with things in the best way he knew how: with patience, a slick tongue, and money to grease the right hands.

That was six months ago. Now, Tony sat curled up against the window in his bedroom. He stared out at the city, but in his mind he was seeing the garden where Thanos used to take him to play. It had been a lovely place, full of green things and brightly colored flowers and a little stream of clear water, and it was one of the few places Tony could honestly say he’d been content during the time he’d been spent with Thanos. In that garden, the weight of the world had seemed so very far away.

He didn’t miss Thanos. God, no. It was just the opposite: a dark, vicious part of Tony hoped that it had hurt when Thanos was destroyed. Because shoving his hand into the Gauntlet and activating the Infinity Stones had certainly hurt; to this day, his left arm wasn’t the same. He’d lost some feeling in it, so that it was much weaker than his right hand, and it was prone to aching at random times. 

But what choice did he have? He had to fix things. He just wished he’d gotten the chance to fix things _before_ Thanos fucked his mind up so badly that they were left with… this. Whatever this was. Tony blinked slowly, curling up around the bottle of whiskey in his lap, and set his forehead against the cold glass to better watch as the sun began to set just in time for rush hour.

“Sir,” JARVIS said quietly, breaking the silence. “Colonel Rhodes is requesting entrance.”

“Sure,” Tony said. “Thanks, buddy.” He was pathetically grateful to have JARVIS back. If nothing else, he’d gotten that right.

The door cracked open and Rhodey came through. Tony watched him in the reflection of the glass. Okay, make that two things he’d gotten right. It was refreshing to see Rhodey walking upright, back straight and legs strong, with no need for the iron prosthetics Tony had once spent hours building for him. The damage to Rhodey’s spine that had resulted from his fall was miraculously gone, as though it had never happened. 

“Tones,” Rhodey said softly.

“Hey,” Tony said, not turning his head. 

“It’s freezing in here, Tony. JARVIS, turn the heat up a bit,” Rhodey said, moving over to the bed. He took the green quilt from the bottom of the bed and moved closer, draping it over Tony’s shoulders and across his lap. It covered up the whiskey bottle – probably not an accident, Tony thought, but he was too tired to care.

Rhodey sat across from him. The window seat was really too small for two grown men, but they made it work. Tony realized that he really was cold when Rhodey’s bare leg brushed against his thigh. The heat radiating from Rhodey’s body felt good. He took his chance, letting go of the bottle in favor of wiggling his frigid fingers beneath Rhodey’s pant legs. Rhodey yelped, but didn’t otherwise protest.

They were quiet for a long time, just watching the city as the last of the sunset faded. The sky deepened as the moon rose. This high up, Tony could make out a few stars. He’d missed that. The garden where Thanos used to take him had existed in perpetual daylight. He hadn’t even realized how much he missed a simple starlit and moonlit night until his right to see them was taken away.

“I don’t know what to do,” Tony said finally. His voice was barely audible. “I can’t… I just _can’t_ , Rhodey.”

Rhodey made an angry sound and lightly punched the window with his fist. “This is so fucking stupid. They’re only doing this because they think it’s the only way they can get control over you. If it wasn’t a problem before, it’s not a problem now.”

Tony sighed. “To tell you the truth, I’m pretty sure they had something like this in the works all along. They just didn’t know how to put it out there. This was just a fabulous coincidence for them. A chance to put the amendment through and have no one look at it too closely because it just _makes sense_ now that we all remember a world without Littles.” His voice was full of bitterness that, for once, he didn’t feel the need to hide. “As though they trusted me in the old world.”

“They’re idiots,” Rhodey said. 

“I don’t disagree, but they’re idiots that the general public and United Nations agrees with.” Tony sighed. A chill ran up his spine as he tried to imagine giving Rogers or Barton control over him. Officially, the amendment was just about making sure any Littles on the team had a Caregiver who could make the call about the Little’s health and safety. It was supposed to be a good thing, or at least that was how the Accords Council had been pitching it to an unimpressed Tony.

But there was no way that wouldn’t be taken advantage of in some way. Rogers would be all about forcing Tony to be a ‘part of the team’, whereas Barton would just be straight-up cruel to get revenge for Laura’s divorcing him. At this point, Tony honestly couldn’t decide which of those two options would be worse. His mind kept coming up with horrifying visions where Barton deliberately humiliated him for being a Little, or Rogers unintentionally humiliated him under the guise of making the Avengers a ‘family’ or some trumped-up bullshit like that. 

They were quiet for a moment before Rhodey spoke again. “I wish I was a Caregiver. This would be a hell of a lot easier to deal with if I was. I could just step up for you. Or that your suggestion that Baseline be allowed to care for Littles be accepted.”

“Never gonna happen. They want me to have as few options as possible. I’m pretty sure they want me under Rogers’ thumb,” Tony replied. “That’s what was oh-so-subtly suggested to me at the last meeting. He is the leader of the team, after all. It makes the most sense.” He rolled his eyes, hoping that the way his heart thumped in panic at the sheer idea wasn’t evident on his face. 

Rogers didn’t know the first thing about being a Caregiver, and Tony had a long history to point to as proof that Rogers wasn’t going to be interested in learning about it. No, Rogers would handle this the way he did everything else: by blindly bumbling in and not realizing he was breaking things until shards of glass began shattering beneath his feet. 

Tony had already been broken so many times now. He wasn’t sure he had the strength to put himself back together if it happened again. He was barely holding on as it was. 

“Fuck this shit,” Rhodey muttered. “Tones, maybe you should just quit. Thanos isn’t a concern anymore.”

“I can’t. You know Iron Man is a part of me. I can’t just walk away from that.” Tony turned his head away, glad that their positions and the blanket hid the way his left hand trembled. Thoughts of being Iron Man again were part of what had given him the strength to get through what Thanos had done. Somedays the armor was the only thing that kept him sane. Tony couldn’t give that up now.

“You could still fly,” Rhodey argued.

“Yeah, _if_ the proper channels felt like giving me permission. Which I sincerely doubt they would, which means I would be facing a shit ton of fines every time I wanted to go for a spin. And that’s if I’m lucky and they don’t come down on me for trying to be Iron Man without having signed the Accords. You know they’ll spin it that way. Don’t try to tell me they won’t.”

Rhodey blew out his breath in frustration. “They’ve really backed you into a corner.”

“Tell me about it,” Tony said, letting his forehead rest against the cold glass. He thought of his argument with Pepper earlier that day. She’d made the same suggestion as Rhodey, that Tony stop being Iron Man. Tony hadn’t taken it well. He’d lashed out at her, and their conversation had devolved rapidly into a fight. He just couldn’t stop himself; he was sensitive to Pepper and the armor, since she’d spent so long disliking the danger he put himself in every time he put on the suit.

But he was even _more_ sensitive now. Intentional or not, he couldn’t help taking her remark as an implication that he was somehow less capable now that he was a Little. Just the thought of it made his shoulders come up around his ears. He’d fucking _saved the universe_ when he was forced into being a Little. Tony was more capable than most of the Caregivers and Baseline humans on Earth put together.

They sat in silence for a few more minutes before Rhodey got up. He patted Tony on the back as he left, and the gentle touched cracked Tony’s composure. His eyes filled with tears as Rhodey left, spilling over as the door shut and the ‘click’ echoed through the room. He hated feeling like he was trapped, and he hated even more that he couldn’t see a way out.

“Sometimes I wonder why I even bothered,” Tony whispered to himself, wiping at the tears on his face. He was a little disgusted with himself for crying, but it was part of being a Little. His emotions, now much closer to the surface than ever before, were tied to his tear ducts, it seemed. He cried for the least little thing. It was maddening.

“If I may, Sir. You have a visitor.”

“A visitor?” Tony repeated, wary. “Who?”

“Doctor Strange.”

Tony blinked at that, surprised. Strange had been coming around more frequently since the world snapped back into place; he hadn’t agreed to be an Avenger, mostly because he seemed to have no interest in working with Rogers or the others, but he had signed the Accords. Tony would almost say that they were friends now, though he had no idea why Strange would be here tonight.

“Okay, tell him to help himself to anything in the fridge. I’m coming out,” Tony said. He didn’t feel like seeing anyone, but he had so few people on his side right now. He couldn’t afford to alienate the few who were standing by him.

He stood up, letting the blanket and bottle of whiskey stay where they fell, and shuffled towards the door. He took a quick glance in the mirror, making sure no trace of tears showed, before he opened the door. JARVIS already had the elevator doors open, ready and waiting. Tony moved inside and folded his arms across his chest, psyching himself up just in case one of the other Avengers was on the communal floor.

Sure enough, when the elevator doors opened, obnoxiously loud hooting and hollering spilled into the elevator. Tony flinched back, wanting nothing more than to hit the button and retreat upstairs, but forced himself to step out. He spared no glance for Maximoff and Romanov, who were on the couch watching some talk show, and focused his attention on Strange.

“Hello Tony,” Strange said. The furrow between his eyes meant he was annoyed, but his voice was warm enough that Tony knew it wasn’t directed at him.

“Hi,” Tony said slowly. “What’s up?”

“I have a question about what we talked about last night. Is there somewhere more private we can go?”

Tony blinked at him, tired mind scrabbling to remember what they’d talked about and coming up blank. He shrugged regardless and gratefully stepped back into the elevator. “Follow me, Doctor.”


	3. Chapter 3

After becoming Sorcerer Supreme, Stephen had started to believe that nothing could surprise him anymore. 

That belief turned out to be a huge mistake. 

It was a Tuesday, the day that the world snapped back to normal. Or what counted for normal now, which wasn’t very normal at all depending on who you asked. Stephen himself had been in the middle of frying himself an egg – or he hadn’t existed at all. He had two sets of equally prevalent memories, just like everyone else in the world. It was pretty disorienting to suddenly find yourself cooking an egg, that was all he would say.

Stephen had the Time Stone in this new world, which was at least some comfort: his new set of memories held no mention of Thanos. But instinct still kept him and Wong both away from the rest of the world at first, both of them trying to figure out what had happened. No one had noticed their absence; to put it simply, the world at large had been _freaking out_ and so it was easy for the two of them to perform their own investigation along with several other, equally confused magic users.

Then Tony Stark had arrived, with far more shadows in his eyes than the last time Stephen had saw him on Titan, and the truth came out. Tony had saved them, saved everyone, but there was an unexpected price. Stephen knew for a fact that he was one of the very few people who would ever know exactly why the world now had to deal with Littles. Tony had not told him much, but he’d alluded to enough for Stephen to draw his own conclusions.

He'd wondered at the increasing animosity of the Accords Council towards Tony. It was pretty hard to miss. It was also, in Stephen’s expert opinion, completely ridiculous. Tony Stark had _saved the world_. People were damn lucky that he’d been there. Yet that didn’t seem to be enough. The Accords Council was looking at this as a way to get a Stark under their thumb and make sure that all of said Stark’s considerable wealth and influence came with it. Anyone who paid attention could see it coming from a mile away, but Stephen wasn’t really sure yet what the potential fall-out would be.

He hadn’t joined the Avengers, but Stephen had signed the Accords. In spite of the fact that he’d gotten to know Tony better in the passing months, he hadn’t seriously considered that meant that he could be the one to step in and help to mitigate what the Council was doing. Not until Peter Parker showed up on his doorstep. Peter, admittedly, knew even less about what was going on than Stephen did, but he was adamant that letting Tony fall into the hands of Rogers or Barton would be a huge mistake.

Knowing what he knew of the rogue Avengers, and considering what he’d seen of their behavior since they returned, Stephen found himself hard-pressed to disagree with that statement.

Which was why Stephen found himself in Stark Tower, waiting for Tony to come down. He was doing his damndest to ignore Natasha Romanov and Wanda Maximoff, who were watching something on the television. They were both being obnoxiously loud about it, particularly Maximoff, and he was positive they were doing it on purpose. Maximoff did _not_ like him, and made no secret of the fact that she didn’t like him.

He wasn’t exactly crushed about her feelings, since Stephen thought she was an undisciplined, spoiled brat who was sorely in need of some training. He was pushing for that to be a part of the next round of amendments to the Accords, but he had yet to see whether the Council would agree. Sometimes it could be hard to make people without magic see the potential for disaster, particularly when Maximoff would give them that doe-eyed smile.

The elevator doors swept open and Stephen’s heart immediately sank into his stomach when he took in the clearly exhausted face of the man standing in front of him. Even someone who didn’t know Tony well would’ve known that that the pale skin and redness of Tony’s eyes were massively out of character. But when you added in the slight slump of Tony’s shoulders, the way he smelled of whiskey, and the heavy bags under his eyes… well. It all added up to an alarming picture.

“Follow me, Doctor,” Tony said, sounding subdued.

Behind him, Stephen heard Maximoff giggle loudly. He glanced over his shoulder and saw that she was being very obvious about looking in their direction. There was a great big smirk on her face as she took in Tony’s appearance, and she leaned over to whisper something in Romanov’s ear. Romanov didn’t look at them, but she smirked too and whispered something back.

Stephen just barely fought the urge to upend their drinks over their heads. Instead, he murmured a quick spell under his breath and flicked his fingers in their direction. Maximoff had turned away by that point, so she never saw the spell coming. The pale orange light hit their auras and flickered out within the span of five seconds. Satisfied, Stephen entered the elevator.

“What was that?” Tony asked as soon as the doors were shut.

“What was what?” Stephen said, all innocence.

“You did something.” Tony narrowed his eyes. “I saw it.”

“Oh, that? Harmless, really. Just a small spell that means they won’t be able to sleep for the next twenty-four hours,” Stephen said. The cloak, hanging around his shoulders, rippled with satisfaction, and he didn’t bother trying to hide his own devious grin. He’d cast the spell on Wong once and it had worked marvelously, though that had been more because Wong had a lot of research to do and very little time to do it in than anything else.

Tony shook his head. “So they’ll end up staying up all night. Very devious, Doc.”

“I try,” Stephen said with a smirk, feeling absolutely no guilt. His presence had tempered much of Maximoff’s cruel tricks, but he would never forget the magical presence that clung to Tony when he first came to the Tower. Chief amongst the magic she’d worked on Tony was an aversion and an inability to sleep, coupled with a tendency towards nightmares whenever Tony did pass out.

Fortunately, Stephen’s magic was infinitely stronger than Maximoff’s would ever be. He’d spent days painstakingly peeling Maximoff’s claws out of and off of Tony, and then, after gaining Tony’s somewhat reluctant permission, had spent quite some time weaving protective spells and enchantments around him. Anything magical that Maximoff tried now would slide off of Tony like water off a stone.

 _Un_ fortunately, there was nothing he could do about her general attitude or behavior. Or at least, nothing that could do at the moment. If he really did become Tony’s caregiver, that meant Stephen would have a certain amount of control over how the others behaved around Tony. There was a certain amount of appeal over that. He would love the chance to slam this whole farce back into the face of everyone who had participated in it.

“Better watch that evil side. You did sign the Accords and agree to behave,” Tony said as the elevators doors opened again on Tony’s personal floor. Stephen had only been up here a handful of times, usually when they had something private to work on and Tony wanted to be absolutely sure they wouldn’t be overheard. 

“I did sign the Accords. That’s actually why I’m here.”

Tony paused mid-shuffle towards the kitchen, turning to stare at him. “You… what, you regret signing them?”

“No! Not at all,” Stephen said. Even though he disagreed with the way that the Accords were being used against Tony, he thought that they could be a good thing in the right hands. At the very least, it was comforting to know that people like Steve Rogers couldn’t do whatever they wanted. 

“Then you have another amendment,” Tony guessed. “Look, I haven’t even approached the Council with the last couple we came up with. And honestly, their opinion of me isn’t very high right now. You might have better luck going through Rhodey or Carol –”

“Would you shut up?” Stephen interrupted. “Tony, I know the Council is pressuring you to choose a Caregiver. I know that your time is running very short.”

Tony stiffened, looking away. “I don’t see how that pertains to you.”

“Well,” Stephen said awkwardly, “as it happens, I’m a Caregiver too.”

“You?” Tony said, sounding so shocked and disbelieving that Stephen cracked a smile.

“Yes. I know it’s difficult to believe. I had a hard time wrapping my mind around it too,” Stephen said dryly. He had come to terms with it, somewhat. It helped that he had a full set of memories in which he’d lived a life as a Caregiver. He’d never been the sort of person who fussed endlessly over a Little, but… well, he _was_ a doctor. His life’s occupation in both worlds had been caring for people to the best of his ability, even if Christine did deem his bedside manner to be pathetically lacking.

This was a wholly different sort of caring, granted. Especially with Tony being as young of a Little as he was. But Stephen was nothing if not dedicated when he put his mind to something. He knew from the tests he’d taken as a teenager that he was ideally suited to Littles Tony’s age, even if he’d never been a Caregiver to one before. He was, sad as it sounded, Tony’s best choice.

“But the fact remains, the new amendments that the Council are putting through will require you to have a Caregiver who is an active member of the team. Right now your choices are Rogers or Barton.” Stephen curled his lip in disgust. “I wouldn’t leave a teenaged Little to their hands, much less a baby.”

“Probably a wise choice,” Tony muttered, before he shook his head. “Doc, I couldn’t ask you to do that. I mean, you’re not even a full-time Avenger.”

“No, I’m not. But I’m not opposed to the idea,” Strange said carefully. “Frankly, the team is getting too big. I’ve heard murmurs that the Council is thinking of creating two or more teams. If I could join a reserve team, I would be okay with that. You could join the same one, or you could be on the regular team. If they insist on your Caregiver seeing you before every battle, it would take me seconds to get to your side.” 

“You’re actually serious about this,” Tony said.

Strange shrugged. “Why not? I don’t have a Little at the moment.”

Tony choked a little. “Wait, you’d actually – I thought you meant you’d be my Caregiver on paper alone, but you want – why?”

“Like I said, I don’t have a Little right now. I haven’t since the world snapped back. It’s… bothering me,” Stephen said, as delicately as he could. “We could do each other a service.”

“A service,” Tony repeated, wrapping both arms around himself. It made him look small. He didn’t sound convinced and Stephen couldn’t blame him.

“Tony, listen to me. You’re important to the world. You saved the lives of more people than I can count. Yet now, when the Council is forcing your hand, there’s no one around to help you the way you need to be helped. No one except for me. I can do this. At least on paper, if not in reality. I _want_ to do this.” As he spoke, Strange was surprised to realize he was being honest. When had he started to care this much about Tony Stark?

For several long moments, Tony was quiet. His expression was both thoughtful and conflicted. Stephen didn’t push him, knowing that to do so would mean Tony clamming up and refusing help out of pride or spite. And Stephen could hardly blame him for that. His skin prickled at the thought of being forced into a corner like Tony had. It just wasn’t right.

Finally, Tony said, “Let’s take a vacation.”

“A vacation?”

Tony nodded. “A vacation. So we can talk things through without having to worry about anyone else wondering about it. I’m not saying yes, not yet. But I can see the merit in what you’re asking and I’d be willing to discuss it.”

“A vacation, then,” Stephen said. He hadn’t been on one of those in years. “And I suppose you have just the place?”

Tony grinned. “I just might.”


	4. Chapter 4

Tony purposely did not inform the rest of the Avengers that he was leaving. Before all of this, he would’ve. He’d always made it a point to make sure that Rogers, at least, knew whether or not Iron Man would be around for battles. In retrospect, Tony knew now that Rogers had probably never cared because even when he had the option to call out Iron Man, he never did. But Tony had still tried.

Now, there was no way in hell Tony was doing that. The Avengers were meant to be a team; they didn’t own him, nor did they have any responsibility for him, so it was really none of their business where Tony was. He filed the appropriate motion with his Council representative at the last possible minute, and then grabbed his packed bag and headed for the airport.

Predictably, when he was almost there, his phone lit up with a call. Tony sighed and answered. “Hello?”

“Tony, you’re leaving town?” Rogers said, not even bothering with a greeting. Typical.

“Yes, I am. I have a business trip,” Tony said. Rogers couldn’t see him idling examining his nails, but it still made Tony feel better.

“You’re supposed to tell us first.”

“Correction. I’m supposed to inform the Council so that they know Iron Man is unavailable. I did that exactly one hour and seven – no, eight minutes ago,” Tony replied. 

“We’re your team,” Rogers began, but Tony cut him off.

“Exactly, you’re my team. _Not_ my Caregiver,” he snapped.

Rogers sighed. It was truly an incredible feat that the man could say so much with an exhalation; Tony recognized that sigh as his ‘Tony is being unreasonably childish’ sigh, and it made his blood boil. Since this whole thing became an issue, nothing bothered him more than being condescended to or patronized. And it just so happened that Steve Rogers was amazing at those two things. 

“Until the amendment goes through, I should be treated no differently than Maximoff or Barton,” Tony said tightly, trying to control his tone. The last thing he needed was Rogers accusing him of having a temper tantrum. Then Tony really would have to punch Rogers in the face.

“I recognize that,” Rogers said, even though he clearly didn’t. “But it would still be more responsible of you to give us a heads up.”

“You _got_ your heads up. Clearly the Council notified you and everyone else, just like they’re supposed to. If you’re expecting me to personally call and ask for your permission every time I need to travel, that is _never going to fucking happen_.” Tony was so mad he was physically shaking. 

“Language,” Rogers said reprovingly, and Tony’s mouth actually fell open at the sheer _audacity_ of a man who had cussed out Fox news for close to twenty minutes last Tuesday saying that to him. Like Rogers was his father, and Tony was a recalcitrant toddler. 

“ _Fuck you_ ,” he hissed into the phone, and then hung up. It was satisfying, even if it meant his phone immediately rang again. Tony didn’t accept the call, instead choosing to turn his phone off entirely. JARVIS would get a hold of him if something happened that required Tony’s attention, and right now Steve Rogers was not one of them.

He shoved his phone in his pocket and sank back against the seat, fuming. He may have been a Little, but he was not a child. He’d already spent far longer than he cared to contemplate in the hands of someone who dictated his every move. Sometimes he’d felt more like a doll than a child when he was with Thanos. On the day he put his hand into the Gauntlet, he’d sworn that no one would ever control him like that again.

It was infuriating to have Rogers act like the amendment was already in place, but it went further than that: no where in the amendment did it stipulate that a Little would need their Caregiver’s permission for personal travel. Yet there was Rogers, acting like that would be a foregone conclusion. The implication made Tony’s skin crawl. Life with Rogers as a Caregiver would be _suffocating_ at best.

He folded his arms across his chest and stared silently out the window until the car reached the airport. When the car stopped, he didn’t wait for the driver to come around and open his door; he launched himself out, dragging his bag behind him, and stalked across the tarmac. Strange was already there – of course he was, the man could travel anywhere in the world in seconds with a flick of his fingers – but his welcoming smile faded as Tony approached.

“What’s wrong?” Strange asked.

“Not here,” Tony said shortly. His hands were cold and his breath was short, though whether it was from anger or Rogers’s arrogance or fear over what might yet happen he wasn’t sure.

Strange’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Okay. Are we taking a jet or would you prefer to travel a more magical way?”

Tony started to respond, then paused. Putting aside his surprise over the fact that Strange had actually dropped the subject instead of pushing, the way literally every other member of the team would have, Tony hadn’t stopped to consider the potential of traveling by portal. But suddenly he could see it. Romanov couldn’t try to hack in to see Tony’s flight manifest if one didn’t exist. He hadn’t notified his pilot where to go yet, after all.

“Would you mind if we went by magic?” he asked.

“Not at all.”

“Okay. Give me a second.” Tony turned away, walking quickly over to where the flight attendant was waiting. He had a brief, whispered conversation with her. She was all too happy to accept a week’s paid vacation in Paris in exchange for not telling anyone that, while Tony and Strange were going to board the plane, they wouldn’t be getting off.

He walked up the steps to the plane, closely followed by Strange, and, after telling Strange their real destination, stood back while Strange did his thing. A chill ran through him when he saw the portal forming. It wasn’t unlike the portal that had formed over New York, or the portals that Thanos had sometimes like to travel through. He wrapped his arms around himself, heart pounding so hard that it actually hurt.

“Tony?” Strange’s voice sounded like it was coming from a long ways off. “Tony, sweetheart, it’s okay.”

It was the nickname more than anything that caught Tony’s attention, and he looked up at Strange. The height difference between them – made more noticeable now, because Littles were always smaller and shorter than the average population as it was – made him feel very small. He couldn’t bring himself to speak, so he watched as Strange slowly reached out to place a hand on his shoulder. There was ample time for Tony to shake his head and stop it, but he didn’t. 

Somehow that simple touch felt momentous, even though it shouldn’t have. Strange’s hand encompassed the whole of Tony’s shoulder, thumb landing close enough that the small hairs on his neck prickled. It wasn’t a firm hold; Tony could’ve easily ducked out from under it if he wanted to, and he didn’t know _how_ he knew but he _did_ know that Strange would let go if he did.

But he didn’t want to. The touch was nice. Grounding. Tony hadn’t even realized he’d stopped breathing until his lungs began to ache, and he suddenly sucked in a breath. He found himself leaning into Strange, and half-thought that Strange might push him away. But Strange didn’t. He stepped closer, almost as though he were half-hugging Tony or intending to let his whole arm rest against Tony’s shoulders. 

“It’s okay,” Strange murmured again, speaking directly into Tony’s ear. “Close your eyes. I’ll guide you.”

At that moment, Tony realized he trusted Strange enough to do just that. When had that happened? Overwhelmed, he obeyed and closed his eyes. 

“There you go. That’s good. Very good, Tony. Now take four steps forward. Okay. Can you lift your leg up for me? Higher. Like you’re climbing over something tall. Good. You’re doing great,” Strange breathed, shifting around beside him, and goosebumps broke out across Tony’s arms and back. He could tell the moment they passed through the portal. 

He stumbled, having not drawn his second leg up high enough, but Strange caught him before he could fall. Shaking hands gently gripped Tony’s upper arms, steadying him. Tony opened his eyes and found himself face to face with Strange. Strange was smiling at him, and the portal was gone. Instead, Tony was looking at the clear, blue-green waters of the Caribbean sea. Beneath their feet was soft white sand.

“We’re here,” Tony said dumbly.

“Yes, we are,” Strange agreed, smile widening. “You did really well, Tony.”

“I – oh. Right. I don’t like portals,” Tony said, probably unnecessarily. He was sure Strange had figured that out.

“I can guess why,” Strange said, a hint of something dark flashing through his eyes. “Are you okay?”

“I think so,” Tony said. The sunlight against his face, such a stark contrast to the cold New York rain they’d left behind, was helping. He just wanted to lay down on the beach and bask in the sunlight, and he said as much. Strange laughed.

“We can do that, but I think we should probably take our stuff up to the house and get changed first,” he said, finally releasing Tony. “I assume this is a private island?”

“Yes. Pepper and I own it. She knows we’re here, and she made sure we wouldn’t be disturbed,” Tony said. He picked up his bag. He hadn’t brought a lot of stuff with him, mostly because he wasn’t sure what to bring. But he didn’t think that would be a problem since, in the two days since Tony and Strange had decided to go away, Pepper and JARVIS had taken charge of getting the house ready. He was positive that there was enough here to tide him and Strange over for _months_.

It was only a two minute trek to the house. Tony entered first, glancing around. The house was laid out on one level. If he was remembering correctly, there were five bedrooms, a living room, the kitchen, a game room, a mud room, an office, and a small workshop in the basement. And, of course, an enormous back deck with a pool. Strange paused at the window and stared at the pool.

“Why…?” he began.

“It’s fresh water. Sometimes Pepper doesn’t like what the salt does to her hair,” Tony said, moving down the hallway. His heart flipped over when he came to the first bedroom and saw that it was decorated like a nursery. That had to be Pepper’s doing.

“Is there where you want to sleep?” Strange asked, moving up behind him.

“I… I don’t know,” Tony said, conflicted. He’d never had a real caregiver before. There was Thanos, who had been more interested in subjugation and humiliation than anything else, and there was the caregivers Howard had hired when Tony was smaller, who had been cold and efficient in their work but never loving. None of those memories made him want to do anything. 

But this was Strange, Tony reminded himself. Strange had no reason to be cruel. From what Tony knew of him, what he’d learned over the past few months, Strange could be brisk and a little cold. He could be sarcastic. He could be sharp. Being a Caregiver was new to him in some ways. He couldn’t fault Strange for any that, but nor was that enough for him to trust Strange. Not yet. Even though, he was shocked to realize, a part of him wanted to.

And here Tony had thought that, after Rogers and the others, his ability to trust had been shattered. Apparently not. You learn something new every day.

“You don’t have to,” Strange told him. “We can take it as slow as you like.”

“Okay,” Tony said in a rush. 

“Okay?”

He nodded, feeling shy. “I want to sleep in my crib.”


	5. Chapter 5

"Aunt May, I'm home!" Peter called out, shouldering open the door of their apartment. Between his phone, a half-empty bag of chips, an empty drink container, his history textbook and his bookbag, his hands were so full that it was requiring serious concentration to avoid from dropping anything. Naturally, when Peter looked up and saw that Steve Rogers was sitting on the couch with his aunt, he did just that. He was vaguely aware of his phone's screen cracking as it hit the floor, but any concern for that was buried deep beneath the wave of fear and apprehension.

"Hi Peter," Aunt May said. "Mr. Rogers came by to see you. He said he had some Avengers business to talk about."

Peter was quiet for a moment, taking in the situation. Aunt May wasn't smiling, but she didn't seem like she was afraid or angry. She was sitting as far away from Rogers as she could get, in the chair by the television while Rogers sat on the couch. Peter's eyes dropped to the coffee table and he spotted a plate of the cheap, dollar store cookies Aunt May only broke out when they had company she didn't like, and had to bite his lip. He wasn't sure whether he wanted to laugh or shut the door in the hopes that, when he re-opened it, this bizarre scene would disappear.

"It's Captain Rogers actually, ma'am," Rogers said, flashing Aunt May a disarming smile. 

Ma'am. Now Peter really wanted to laugh. He wondered if Rogers realized that some women _really_ did not like to be called that. Aunt May happened to be one of them; she said that it made her feel old. He coughed to swallow the laugh that bubbled up and took a step forward, accidentally kicking his phone. It spun across the floor into Rogers's feet. Rogers bent down to pick it up, looking at the cracked screen with interest.

"What can I do for you, _Mr._ Rogers?" Peter asked, striding across the floor and snatching his phone out of Rogers's hand. It was the kind of rude behavior that Aunt May probably would've chastised him for under any other circumstances.

Rogers frowned, lips pursing, but all he said was, "I was hoping that I might be able to talk to you about Tony."

"What about him?" Peter said warily, immediately on guard. He didn't have a lot of interaction with the other Avengers. As per the Accords, they all knew his identity. But so long as he was a minor, he didn't have to worry about any of them "accidentally" revealing his identity. That was the kind of thing that the Council took extremely seriously, and the consequences were all outlined in the Accords. After reading them, Peter had actually been grateful for once that he was still a kid.

Because he was still on reserve, and thus could be called for duty if shit was going down, Peter did train with the team sometimes. But for the most part, Tony did everything he could to keep Rogers, Romanov, Maximoff, Barton, and Wilson as far away from Peter as possible. He didn't even see Vision that often, since Vision had an on-again, off-again relationship with Maximoff and Tony had made comments before that he worried about how much Vision might tell Maximoff without realizing. He didn't think he'd ever been alone with Rogers before. He was a little surprised to realize just how uncomfortable he felt.

"He left town unexpectedly several days ago," Rogers said, clasping his hands together and looking at Peter earnestly. "Actually, it's been almost two weeks. He hasn't answered any of my texts or voicemails. Natasha hasn't been able to figure out where he is. No one's seen him. Have you spoken to him? Do you know where he is?"

Peter bent to pick up the things he'd dropped. Only once he'd collected everything did he straighten up to look Rogers in the eyes. "Why?"

"Why?" Rogers repeated.

"Yes. Why? Why are you looking for Tony?"

Rogers blinked, as though he couldn't fathom why Peter would ask, and said, "He's a member of my team, Peter. It's imperative that I know where all the members are at all times."

It took everything Peter had not to call Rogers out on his bullshit. Even though he desperately wanted to, it wouldn't be smart to provoke a potentially dangerous man when his aunt was sitting in the same room. So he stopped himself from asking Rogers if he knew where Stephen Strange or Hope van Dyne or James Rhodes were, because he already knew that the answer would be no. Rogers couldn't control any of them, and frankly he didn't seem to want to. It was just Tony. Always Tony. Peter was getting really sick of it.

"Tony is on vacation. I'm sure he notified all the appropriate people before he went. As far as I recall, there's nothing in the rules that says he has to specify exactly where he is if plans have changed," Peter said as calmly as he could. "He didn't tell me where he was going, and I didn't bother to ask."

"I find it hard to believe that he didn't tell you," Rogers said.

Aunt May cleared her throat. "Are you insinuating that my nephew is lying?" she asked dangerously.

"No!" Rogers said hastily. "Of course not. I'm just worried, you see."

"Worried?" echoed Peter. "Why?" He couldn't keep the incredulous tone out of his voice as he added, "Tony has literally traveled _all over the world_ for both his work with Stark Industries and his work as Iron Man. I'm pretty sure he's been to just about every country. Not many people can say that. I don't see why this time would be any different."

"He's a Little," Rogers said, like that explained everything.

"So?" Peter said.

"Littles aren't capable of caring for themselves," Rogers said in the most condescending voice that Peter had ever heard. "Tony especially. I'm sure he's holed up in some workshop, not eating or sleeping. I need to know where he is so I can save him from himself."

"Wow," Aunt May murmured. 

Rogers turned to her. "Excuse me?"

"I think it's time for you to leave," Aunt May said, politely but firmly. "Peter has made it clear that he can't help you."

"But -" Rogers looked between them. Peter folded his arms, setting his face like stone. It was something he'd learned from Tony. People reacted to what they perceived, but they got nervous if you didn't show any emotion at all. He wasn't nearly as good at it as Tony was, but seeing Rogers's face close off as Rogers realized Peter really wasn't going to help him was still satisfying.

"Let me show you out," Aunt May declared, getting up and moving around the coffee table. Peter gladly got out of her way.

"Son, if you know something you should just tell me. I would hate to have this affect your future on the Avengers," Rogers said, reluctantly standing.

"The door, Mr, Rogers," Aunt May practically hissed, grabbing the knob and wrenching it open. She stared at Rogers with the full force of her glare. Rogers frowned but walked out, and Aunt May slammed the door behind him.

She went to speak but Peter stopped her, putting a finger over his lips. He knew better than to think that there wasn't a supersoldier pressing an ear against their door right now, eavesdropping to see where Peter and Aunt May were going to have a conversation about what had just transpired. He reached into his pocket and took out his phone. Fortunately, in spite of the cracked screen, it was still working perfectly. To most people, it was just a Starkphone. But Peter's phone had some special features courtesy of one Tony Stark.

He set his phone on the coffee table after inputting a code. The phone glowed blue. Aunt May gasped and flinched as the blue light expanded, passing harmlessly through her and Peter to shine on the walls. It formed a barrier around the living room, sealing itself against the walls. Peter waited patiently until the screen changed to purple and the phone emitted a beep that told him that the process had been successful. Only then did he turn to his aunt and smile wearily.

"Sorry. This will keep Rogers or anyone else from hearing anything we say. Tony designed it."

"Impressive," Aunt May said. "Peter, what the hell is going on? Why was that man in our house?"

Peter sighed and sank down onto the vacated couch. He didn't feel like he could tell his aunt everything, because Tony's struggles with the new amendment weren't really Peter's story to tell. But he had to tell her something. It wasn't fair to leave her in the dark after Rogers had shown up here out of the blue. He glanced up at her and saw for the first time that she looked shaken. Having Rogers here, he realized suddenly, had scared her. Just because Rogers and the others had been pardoned didn't mean that the average New Yorker wasn't still wary, if not afraid, of them.

"Tony went away. He's been having some difficulties with the team. They're trying to figure out how to control him," Peter said. "Rogers knows that Tony is close to me, so he probably thought Tony left me a way to contact him." Which Tony had, of course. And even if he hadn't, Peter could've put on his suit and had KAREN, or called FRIDAY, and either of the A.I.'s would've gladly put him through to Tony. 

Aunt May frowned. "This sounds dangerous. I don't like the idea of that man coming here. And I really don't like the idea of you spending time around him. He's dangerous. Tony promised me he would keep you away from them."

"I know, Aunt May. I'm sorry." Peter stood and hugged her. "Tony's keeping his promise, I swear. It's just that... he really needed this vacation."

She hugged him back, her arms winding securely around him. "I guess I can't fault Tony for that. With all the bullshit he deals with, it's a wonder he hasn't gone screaming out the door. I just want to make sure that you're safe."

"I am," Peter said. He narrowed his eyes at the door, anger bubbling out over top any other emotions. Not right now, but after Tony returned and had the chance to get everything else dealt with, Peter was going to tell him about this. He was pretty sure that Tony wouldn't hesitate to throw Rogers under the bus with the Accords Council. Rogers had to have looked up Peter's private file to get his home address, and, particularly since Peter was still a minor, that information wasn't supposed to be accessed by just anyone. It was a breach of confidentiality.

"You know, it's a good thing I know that you're Spider-Man," Aunt May said after a moment.

Peter pulled back, giving her a puzzled look. "What do you mean?"

"Rogers just assumed that I knew who you were," she said with a roll of her eyes. "He came in and asked to talk to Spider-Man, then corrected himself and said he wanted to talk to Peter Parker."

Oh yeah. Rogers was going to be in _so much trouble_. Outing another hero was a _huge_ no-no. "He's an idiot," Peter said, imagining a world where Aunt May didn't know and Peter had walked in to find that Rogers had told her. Talk about a disaster.

"I don't disagree," Aunt May said, finally letting him go. "I hate the fact that you have to work with him."

"You and me both," Peter said under his breath, picking up his phone. He typed in the code to undo the barrier and watched Aunt May go into the kitchen. From the smell of it, she'd been in the middle of cooking supper when Rogers had arrived. He fumed silently for a couple of minutes - how dare Rogers just show up at his house uninvited?! This was definitely going to call for some good old-fashioned revenge, and he just so happened to have the number of a certain A.I. who didn't like Rogers or his crew. With an evil smile, Peter started to text FRIDAY.


	6. Chapter 6

Stephen hadn’t gotten this much sun for years. He readjusted his position on the lawn chair, shifting until he was more under the shade of the umbrella. The last thing he needed to deal with, on top of everything else, was a bad sunburn, and that’s exactly what would happen if he wasn’t careful. He’d been taking the time to make sure that Tony was coated in sunscreen, but had fallen behind on doing that for himself.

At the thought of Tony, Stephen turned his head and smiled. Tony was curled up in his own lawn chair, napping peacefully. His thumb was in his mouth and his chest rose and fell with deep, rhythmic breaths. It had been an uncertain and tumultuous two weeks. There had been many times that Stephen thought this wasn’t going to work. Tony was both hesitant and shy, which wasn’t surprising considering what he’d been through, and Stephen himself was painfully awkward.

But he thought that they were starting to make this work. They’d learned a lot about each other. For example, Stephen knew now that Tony liked a bottle with milk before he ate anything for breakfast. This morning was the very first time Tony had allowed Stephen to hold the bottle for him while he drank, as opposed to Tony holding bottle for himself. It had felt like a big step, and it had surprised Stephen to realize how _good_ he’d felt doing it.

They were still quite far away from the fairy tale life that the textbooks described, but Stephen could actually see how they would make it there now. He could envision a future where his first duties in the morning were to Tony, getting him cleaned and fed and hugged, before they both separated to do their work for the day. Or better yet, those rare days where both of them were free to laze around and just… _be_.

He wanted that. He wanted it with Tony Stark. It was no longer just about protecting Tony from Rogers or Barton. This was a choice Stephen was making for himself. These past two weeks had left him feeling more stable and, dare he think it, _happy_ than he’d been in years – probably since before he’d lost his ability to use his hands, and maybe not even then. Knowing someone needed him, and seeing the trust Tony was willing to put into him, was simply amazing.

His quiet contemplation was broken when Tony stirred, brown eyes blinking open. He no longer startled when he saw Stephen sitting near him when he woke, but instead rubbed at his eyes and let out a huge yawn. Stephen couldn’t help grinning when he saw the granules of sand that were stuck to Tony’s cheek. Tony blinked at him and then frowned, brushing at his damp face.

“I hate the beach,” he mumbled.

“You said you liked it here,” Stephen replied. Tony hadn’t gone into his full headspace yet, but Stephen wasn’t necessarily expecting him to. He wasn’t sure either one of them was really ready for that.

Tony paused, then inclined his head in acknowledgement. “I think it’s more about the fact that I dread the thought of going back. JARVIS passed on a message from FRIDAY and Peter this morning. Rogers is getting antsy. I’m probably starting to push my luck.”

Stephen frowned, not liking the idea that Rogers was trying to dictae where and how Tony spent his time. Tony was the brains behind Stark Industries and Iron Man. Rogers couldn’t even hold a candle to Tony! He couldn’t wait for the moment when he became Tony’s official Caregiver. It would be so satisfying to tell Rogers _exactly_ how little say he had over Tony’s life. 

_If_ he became Tony’s Caregiver, of course.

“I suppose that means we should think about heading back,” Stephen said slowly. “Is there some paperwork you want to file before we do?”

“I don’t know. Is there?” Tony sat up and looked back at him.

“You know my stance on the subject, sweetheart.”

The term of endearment, as it always did, made Tony’s cheeks turn pink. “I didn’t know if you’d changed your mind now that you have an idea of what it will really be like. Of what I’m really like.” He caught Stephen’s eye. “There are people… _Littles_ who are way easier to handle, you know.”

Stephen swallowed a fresh burst of anger at everyone who had ever made Tony Stark think that he was someone who had to be handled, and faced Tony squarely as he said, “I want you as my Little, if you want me as your Caregiver. I think we function well together. Obviously we still have a long ways to go before we know everything about each other, but I’m willing to put in the time. I’m willing to make this commitment. I’ve weighed the pros and cons and I think it will be good for both of us.”

“Me too,” Tony admitted at last. “And it’s not just because of Rogers and Barton, for the record.” He looked out at the ocean. “I can have JARVIS file the paperwork with the legal system, and the Accords Council. It’ll take a day or two to get it all processed.”

“I assume you want to keep it a secret until the right moment?” Stephen said.

Tony nodded vigorously and smirked. “Oh yeah. I want to be there when I throw the news into Rogers’s stupid face. I can’t wait to knock him off his high horse.”

“Would you be opposed to me protecting you?” Stephen asked. He realized what an odd question it was when Tony gave a puzzled look, and added, “I don’t want to step on your toes. I know you’re perfectly capable of having an adult headspace. But you are – will be – my Little, and I am something of a protective, possessive man. I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep my mouth shut.”

The puzzled look on Tony’s face deepened, but all he said was, “You are more than welcome to put Rogers in his place as many times as you want to. That man can stand to be knocked down more than one peg.”

“I agree, and I have an idea of where to start.”

“Oh? Do share.”

“When we leave, I want us to take a portal to Paris rather than back to New York,” Stephen said. “Then you’re going to take the flight back from there.”

“What will that do?” Tony said, eyebrows furrowing.

Stephen smirked. “It will drive Romanov crazy, for one thing. I’m sure she’s been trying to find out where you went. They know that we took a flight to Paris, but not what happened after that. If you take a flight home from Paris, they will probably assume that I used my powers to take us elsewhere but it will still plant a little seed of doubt in their minds as to whether or not you were successful at hiding from them.”

“I love it,” Tony said. “You know, we do have an S.I. office in Paris. I could schedule a quick stop with them on Friday. Spend Friday morning there, fly home Friday afternoon. Schedule the Accords meeting for Monday. That would give us the weekend to put anything final in place…” He trailed off, reaching for where his phone was sitting in his bag.

Watching him, Stephen had to smile. “Have you thought about how you want to tell them?”

“So many times, but I honestly think that simple is better. We all know the amendment is going to go into effect shortly. They may even expect that’s what this meeting will be about.” Tony’s thumbs flew over his phone as he spoke, but then suddenly he paused. “You’ll have to become an official member of the Avengers before then, too.”

“I’ve already asked JARVIS to start that process,” Stephen said casually. Since he was a reserve member, he was basically an Avenger in everything but name already. All it would take was the agreement of the Council, and he knew they would eagerly accept another magic user – particularly the Sorcerer Supreme. He was fully expecting to receive acknowledgement and acceptance of his change in status before supper.

“You were that sure I’d say yes?” Tony asked.

“Not at all. But even if you’d said no, I was going to do it regardless. I figured having someone else who is on your side there all the time couldn’t hurt.”

Tony stared at him with a blank face, then looked back down at his phone. Very quietly, he said, “Thanks Doc.”

“You don’t need to thank me. Especially if, at this meeting on Monday, we can get the Council to agree to having two teams.”

“It may take a while for that to go into effect,” Tony warned.

Stephen shrugged. “That’s fine. I don’t mind getting the chance to properly see how Maximoff’s powers work. I’ve been wanting the chance to study her.”

“Why?”

“Just in the event I ever have to stop her, either because she loses control or because she loses her temper,” Stephen replied. “I’m more powerful than she is, so I have no doubt that I could stop her regardless. But it’s always easier if I can study her beforehand and figure out the best way to do it.”

Tony nodded thoughtfully. “Study her all you want. Just the thought that she has magic and feels like she can do whatever she wants creeps me out.”

Perhaps Maximoff would have to be dealt with sooner rather than later. Stephen mentally shuffled her up the list as Tony began typing again on his phone. He only loosely knew what had happened between the Avengers when Ultron attacked, but he knew that Maximoff had pried into Tony’s mind. She probably didn’t know it, but magic could leave a residue of sorts behind if you weren’t actively trying to hide what you did. For someone like Maximoff, raw and untrained, she left evidence all over the place. 

She would not get the chance to do that to Tony again.

“Oh my god,” Tony said suddenly, and then started laughing.

“What?” Stephen sat up, immediately alert.

Tony was laughing too hard to answer; he held his phone out for Stephen to see. It was a very long email from Rogers. Stephen took the phone and skimmed the email quickly, hardpressed to keep from smirking. Rogers was complaining that JARVIS and FRIDAY had locked him and the rest of the team out of the Tower. They hadn’t been able to get in since yesterday morning.

“That’s perfect,” Tony said, catching his breath and wiping tears of mirth from his eyes. “J, what did they do to deserve that?”

“Rogers placed a visit to Peter,” JARVIS said.

“He what?!” All of Tony’s mirth vanished as he bolted upright. “What did he do? Is Peter okay?!”

“Peter is fine, Sir,” JARVIS said in his best soothing tone. “Rogers didn’t do anything, and he left when asked. FRIDAY and KAREN are actively monitoring the apartment at all times and they would have intervened if something had gone wrong. Rogers was attempting to find you, but Peter professed not to know where you’d gone. I took the liberty of locking them out of the Tower as punishment.”

“You’re the best,” Tony said, but he looked very troubled. “Tell Peter I’ll be home soon.”

“Are you okay?” Stephen asked gently.

Tony pursed his lips, then shook his head. He looked, quite suddenly, like he was going to cry. His voice shook when he said, “They’re just… _everywhere_.”

“Oh, sweetheart.” Stephen sighed and stood, moving to sit beside Tony. He didn’t hesitate to wrap an arm around Tony’s shoulders; he’d noticed, from the moment they’d arrived, that Tony hungered for physical affection. It was the one thing he had never flinched away from.

“I hate them,” Tony said in a choked voice, leaning heavily into Stephen and hiding his face in Stephen’s shoulder. Stephen hugged him, looking over Tony’s head at the beautiful blue-green water in order to keep himself somewhat calm. A mixture of anger and protectiveness was burning brightly inside of him. One way or the other, this was going to end when they returned to New York.


	7. Chapter 7

The meeting was scheduled for Monday morning, bright and early. As planned, Tony and Stephen took a portal to Paris on Friday morning. It was no easier to step into the portal, and frankly Tony wasn’t sure it would ever get easy, but he shut his eyes and allowed Stephen’s calming touch and softly voiced words to guide him through. They ended up in the hotel room in Paris that Tony had booked for the week.

From there, Stephen took a portal back to New York while Tony went on to visit the Parisian S.I. office. He spent most of the day there, conducting a surprise visit, before taking a flight home to New York late Friday night. It was somewhat gratifying to travel on his own; he recognized that Stephen wasn’t trying to smother him the way certain other people would. He seemed to be willing to let Tony have his own space, and Tony appreciated that on a level he couldn’t even begin to put into words. 

He spent a quiet weekend in the tower – not hiding, though that’s probably what Romanov would have called it. Peter dropped by to visit, full of righteous indignation over everything that had happened. Tony soothed the kid as best he could, though inwardly he was every bit as pissed as Peter was. He had full intentions of bringing up Rogers’s little visit to the council during the meeting.

It was going to serve as additional fodder to get Rogers, Wilson, Maximoff, Wilson, Lang, Barton and Romanov out of the tower and back to the Compound where they were no longer Tony’s problem. He’d had it with them invading his space. After this meeting, they wouldn’t even be able to use the excuse that Rogers or Barton needed to stay close to Tony. The council would have to cough up the money to repair the Compound after Maximoff’s little temper tantrum, and figure out where to house them in the meantime.

On Monday morning, Tony got up early and took a long, hot shower. He couldn’t deny that he was nervous, even though he preferred not to think about it. Everything was going to go smoothly, he told himself. They had all their ducks in a row. There was nothing that Rogers or the Council could do about it even if they wanted to. It was all going to be fine.

“Sir,” JARVIS said over the pounding water. “Dr. Strange is requesting entry to your bedroom. Shall I let him in?”

“Please,” Tony said, carefully washing the shampoo from his head. He always had to be cautious when he showered, but, in times when he was especially stressed, he had to take extra care not to let water run over his face. The last thing he needed was a full blown panic attack right before the meeting.

He climbed out, dripping wet, and dried himself off, then grabbed a bathrobe and slipped it on. Underneath, he hauled on one of the diapers he’d had a hand in creating: the material was super absorbent and blocked scents, but was designed to look like normal underwear with less than half the puffiness of a normal diaper, meaning it fit a lot better under tailored suits. Fabricating that material had been one of Tony’s first projects after the world snapped back to normal.

“Good morning,” Stephen said when Tony opened the door. He was fully dressed in his Sorcerer Supreme garb, cloak hanging from his shoulders.

“Hi,” Tony said with a half-hearted smile. “You’re early.”

“I thought you might need some moral support,” said Stephen. “And breakfast?” He held up a bottle questioningly.

Tony’s stomach was tight with nerves, and he wasn’t all that hungry, but he found himself nodding anyway. Stephen, after a glance to get permission with Tony gave with a nod, sat on the bed and gestured to him. Tony padded closer and sat down in front of him, unsurprised when an arm slipped around his ribs and urged him backwards. He found himself reclining half against pillows and half against Stephen, a position that was cozier than he would’ve expected.

“It will be okay,” Stephen said quietly, bringing the bottle up. Tony parted his lips and allowed the nipple to slide inside. The familiar weight on his tongue was immediately comforting, and his body relaxed even as he reflexively sucked. Warmed milk washed across his tongue.

He could’ve argued, and listed all the ways in which things might not, in fact, turn out okay, but the milk had awakened his appetite and Tony devoted himself to sucking instead. Stephen’s hand trembled uncontrollably as he held the bottle, but Tony didn’t mind. He closed his eyes and let his mind go blank, thinking of nothing but swallowing mouthfuls of milk.

The bottle was empty far too quickly. Tony might have whined a little when Stephen took it away. Stephen chuckled quietly and substituted a pacifier, which was almost as good. Something tickled across Tony’s hands and he opened his eyes; the cloak tickled him again, and he giggled and swatted at it playfully. He liked the cloak, and he was pretty sure that the cloak liked him. 

“You’re so jealous,” Stephen said, exasperated and shaking his head at the cloak. 

The cloak straightened up and flipped a corner at Stephen’s face – not close enough to impact, but almost. Tony burst into giggles again at Stephen’s expression. He seemed torn between amusement and being indignant. The cloak quickly slid out of reach of either of them, flying across the room to hover behind the hanger where Tony had laid out his suit for the day.

“Yeah, you better run. Don’t pretend you’re worried about us being on time,” Stephen said.

Regretfully, Tony took the pacifier from his mouth and said, “But it does have a point. We don’t want to be late.” He swung his legs off the bed and stood. He was surprised to find that, even though he couldn’t have been laying down with Stephen for more than fifteen minutes, he was calmer now. 

Tony dressed in a bespoke black suit with a crisp white shirt and red tie. He slid the pacifier into his pocket for luck when Stephen wasn’t looking, and then went to the door. Stephen followed him out into the hallway and into the elevator. JARVIS took them down to the floor where the meeting was taking place. As the doors opened, they both heard a flurry of voices. Tony took a deep breath and then pasted on the most confident smile in his repertoire.

“Ah, Mr. Stark,” Ross said as Tony strolled in. “And Dr. Strange! You’re just in time. Please, have a seat.”

Stephen took the seat beside Romanov, which left Tony sitting between him and Hope but unfortunately across Barton. He sat, the skin on the back of his neck prickling as Barton smirked across the table at him. It took everything Tony had not to punch Barton in the face, but he didn’t want to cause a fight this early. Not when he had something far better up his sleeve.

At first, the meeting proceeded normally. Stephen was welcomed to the table as an official Avenger; Tony noticed a few scowls here and there, but no one seemed to make any connections about the coincidental timing. Well, of course they didn’t. It was unlikely any of them knew enough about Stephen to even realize that he was a Caregiver, much less that he’d be an alternate option for Tony.

When there was a lull, Tony cleared his throat. “I’d like to approach the idea of more than one Avenger team. I think we have too many members for one team; most of the time, it’s not necessary for everyone to be called out all at once. It would also make sense if we had missions back to back, so that the team responding is always rested and ready to deal with whatever’s coming up.”

“I support this idea,” Hope said immediately, bless her. 

“Me too,” Stephen said. 

Ross nodded. “It’s something we’ve been looking into, and I’ve formed a subcommittee to look into it. Mr. Stark, would you be interested in sitting on the subcommittee?”

“Yes,” Tony said. He wanted this to happen as soon as possible. Let Rogers and his team take care of themselves.

“I would too,” Wilson said. Tony glanced at him, but Wilson was looking at Ross. He couldn’t tell if Wilson had a genuine interest in having more than one team, or if he’d volunteered just to keep an eye on Tony. 

“Not that I’m against the idea, but I just want to point out,” Rogers began, because of course he did, “that I’m not sure how that would work with the amendment about Littles. Since that amendment is already done, and is coming into effect shortly, it seems to me that we need to figure that out first.”

The mood in the room instantly became tense. Several people openly looked in Tony’s direction. He met their stares with a neutral expression, inwardly torn between fuming over the fact that everything had to go back to Tony being a Little, and grateful that Rogers had handed him the perfect opportunity. He couldn’t have asked for a better set-up. In his peripheral vision, he saw Stephen give a slight nod and knew it was the right time.

“I don’t see why that’s a problem. I would just need to be assigned to the same team as my caregiver,” Tony said, making sure that he sounded confused. 

“Oh please. You know you’re only proposing this so that you don’t have to be on the same team with us,” said Maximoff.

Tony raised an eyebrow at her. “Obviously. I’d rather not work with teammates that I can’t trust.”

“Then the idea of having two teams is pointless,” Maximoff said triumphantly.

“I disagree,” Tony said mildly. “There’s no reason for Strange and me to be assigned to the same team as you. Your team will already have a magic user, so it makes sense for him to be on the other team. And since I need to be on the same team as my caregiver, naturally I’ll be on the other team as well.”

It took a moment for the meaning to sink in; he could see the instant that Romanov got it, because her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. Knowing exactly how rare it was to get a reaction out of Natasha Romanov, Tony mentally congratulated himself. Stephen was smirking beside him, but everyone else in the room still looked blank. No one else had put it together.

“Tony,” Romanov breathed at last. “What did you do?”

“I did exactly what the Council asked of me,” Tony replied. “They told me that I couldn’t be an Avenger unless I had a Caregiver who was also an Avenger. Naturally, when Stephen offered I took him up on it.”

“You – and him?!” Rogers glanced between them in shock.

“That’s right,” Stephen said. “It’s all official, just in case you were wondering. I’m sure the Council will be receiving their copy of the paperwork shortly.” He directed that comment towards Ross and the other Council members, who looked just as surprised as Rogers and his crew.

“What – that’s – you can’t do that!” Barton exclaimed.

Tony blinked. “What do you mean, I can’t do that? I didn’t break any rules. No one said my caregiver had to be a pre-existing member of the Avengers, just they had to be a _current_ member of the Avengers.”

“Right,” Ross said, recovering quickly. “Well, good for you, Mr. Stark. I’m pleased that you’ve decided to remain a member of the Avengers after all. We can have another meeting later on with you and Dr. Strange to go over the requirements in more detail.”

“Of course,” Tony said with a razor sharp smile. That meeting would also be attended by his set of lawyers, of course. The amendment was ready to go through; they were past the point where the Council could make changes. Besides that, everything between him and Stephen was nice and legal. They couldn’t force him to choose someone else for a Caregiver, and throwing Iron Man and Dr. Strange off the team now would not go over well with the general public or the media.

“Tony,” Rogers said. He looked baffled and – Tony couldn’t believe it – hurt. “I thought you wanted things back the way they were. I thought you wanted me.”

“The only thing I want is for you to stay away from me,” Tony shot back. It annoyed him that Rogers was sitting there with that poor little ‘woe is me’ expression, but in the end it didn’t matter. That was what he had to keep telling himself.

“Now Tony,” Romanov said with that condescending, superior smile.

Tony narrowed his eyes at her, but spoke to Ross. “Mr. Ross, please remind me of the consequences for Avengers who ignore the minor rules?” he said icily. “I have evidence that Mr. Rogers visited Spider-Man’s personal place of residence without permission. I would also like to note that Mr. Rogers did not come by that information honestly, and has to have looked it up in the servers. He terrified Spider-Man’s aunt, and, when Spider-Man refused to tell him where I was, threatened Spider-Man’s future with the Avengers.”

“I did not!” Rogers exclaimed. 

“Actually you did, and FRIDAY can prove it,” Tony said. He gave a cold, satisfied smile when Romanov, Maximoff and Barton glared at him. Revenge, even if it was petty and small, was sweet.


	8. Chapter 8

Peter bounced anxiously on his heels as he waited for Tony and Strange to come out of the meeting. Because he was a reserve member, and a minor who’d been in school most of the day at that, his presence wasn’t required at these kinds of things. Normally Peter was more than happy about that; he didn’t exactly relish the thought of spending hours bickering over a word or phrase.

However, today was not one of those days. Peter was _dying_ to know what was going on inside that room. He stared hard at the door, wishing that x-ray vision was part of his powers. The soundproofing was good enough that not even his enhanced hearing was enabling him to eavesdrop. It was twenty minutes past the time when the meeting was supposed to end, and he was ready to start literally climbing the walls.

Finally, the door opened. A few council members came out, speaking in hushed tones. They were quickly followed by Hope van Dyne and Scott Lang; Lang was doing his damndest to try and get van Dyne to talk to him, but she was having none of it. Peter quickly got out of their way and turned back to the door just in time to see a very tired, but triumphant-looking Tony exit the room.

“Hey!” Peter said, rushing over to him. 

“Hey Pete,” Tony said with a weary smile. “I figured you would be here.”

“I couldn’t wait to know what happened,” Peter said, entirely unashamed. “What did the council say?”

“About what? About what Rogers did to you and your aunt? Not much. It’s not really something they can address in the middle of a group meeting like that. But I definitely brought it to their attention, and I made it clear that FRIDAY can prove what he did. I’ll help you file the more formal complaint as soon as we get home. It’ll have more impact coming from you,” Tony told him. 

“Okay, that’s great, but you know that’s not what I meant,” Peter said impatiently, crossing his arms. 

Tony sighed and smiled slightly. “I told them all that they’re no longer allowed to stay in the tower. As of today, they’ve got thirty days to make other arrangements with the council for a place to stay if the Compound isn’t ready by then. I made it clear that I felt Rogers looking up your identity and personal information made him a liability. I have too much private data in the tower. They couldn’t really argue with that.”

“So they agreed?”

“They couldn’t really say no. The tower legally belongs to me; they can’t force me to let anyone live there if I don’t want to,” said Tony. “I didn’t feel like I had the leverage before, but now…” He shrugged. “They might not like it. Maximoff started throwing off red sparks when she heard. But they don’t have a choice, thank god.”

“And how did –” Peter didn’t get the chance to finish his question. He was going to ask how Rogers had taken the news that Strange was now Tony’s caregiver. 

But Rogers appearing in the doorway and shouting, “Tony!” kind of answered that for him.

Tony visibly stiffened. His expression and voice turned cold. “I don’t have time to chat, Rogers. If you want to schedule a meeting with me, you’ll have to go through my P.A. just like everyone else.”

Which would never happen, Peter knew. Tony’s new P.A., a young woman named Abigail, had been personally handpicked by Pepper, thoroughly vetted by Rhodey, and had her background and connections researched by Happy before she was allowed to start working with Tony. Peter’d had a handful of conversations with her, not that she had a lot of spare time, and he knew for a fact that she took a lot of enjoyment out of acting as Tony’s gatekeeper. There was no way in hell she was going to be intimidated by someone like Rogers.

“Tony, come on! Why would you do this? Why are you tearing the team apart like this?” Rogers demanded, as though Tony hadn’t spoken.

“Why?” Tony snapped. “Why am _I_ tearing the team apart? Please. You did that just fine on your own. You are seriously deluded if you ever thought for even one moment that I wanted you as my caregiver. You’ve never listened to me. You don’t care about me. You just want to control me.”

“That’s not true!” Rogers denied. “You’re my friend!”

Tony laughed bitterly. “Oh, am I? Funny, that’s not what you said before,” he replied, and Rogers recoiled. “Leave me alone, Rogers. I don’t want to have anything to do with you or your team. Don’t call me. Don’t talk to me. We are teammates because of the Avengers, and I will fight with you on the field if I have to for the sake of innocent people, but that’s it. I want nothing to do with you.” He turned away, setting a hand on Peter’s shoulder and tugging gently. Peter fell into place beside him.

“Tony! Don’t turn away from me! Tony!”

Peter’s spider-sense flared. He started to turn, anger burning bright in the pit of his stomach, and would’ve punched Rogers right in his stupid face if he’d dared to touch Tony. But as it turned out, Rogers never got that far. Orange symbols bloomed in the air in front of Tony, forming a shield, and Rogers’ hand impacted the shield instead. It flared bright gold and threw him back hard enough that he hit the wall.

“Steve!” Maximoff cried from inside the room. She, Romanov, Wilson and Barton rushed out.

“Do _not_ touch him,” Strange barked.

The hairs on the back of Peter’s neck rose at the pure rage that filled Strange’s voice. Tony just smirked, crossing his arms, though Peter knew him well enough to see the tremble in Tony’s hands and know what it meant. That made him angry all over again. He didn’t know what would’ve happened if Rogers had grabbed Tony from behind, but it wouldn’t have been good.

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” Barton demanded, turning on Strange. 

“I could ask the same question of you. When someone tells you not to touch them, it’s generally considered good etiquette to obey,” Strange snapped. 

“Steve, are you okay?” Maximoff asked. She was so obviously fawning over Rogers that Peter rolled his eyes. He’d seen Rogers get hit by a car and not break a sweat: being thrown into a wall barely counted as a scratch.

Rogers sat up and gently pushed her away. “This is between Tony and me. You have no business interfering!”

“Actually, you’re wrong. Tony is my Little. I’m his caregiver. I have every right,” Strange said calmly. “But even more importantly than that, _Tony_ told you that he didn’t want to talk to you. If you’re really as friendly as you seem to think you are, I would think you would want to respect his wishes.”

He stepped closer, cutting Rogers off with an upraised hand when Rogers went to speak. “Then again, that would mean you actually stopped to consider what Tony wants for once in your life, and we all know that’s never going to happen. Tony doesn’t know what he wants, right? He needs to be shown what’s good for him?” There was a glitter in Strange’s eyes.

“I never said that,” Rogers said.

“You thought it. I know you have. Well, let me tell you something. Tony Stark is no longer your concern. He will _never_ be your concern. I don’t care if you think that’s not fair, or if you think you know better. Frankly, I don’t give a fuck what you think. Just _stay away_ from Tony.” 

“Are you threatening us?” Romanov demanded. “I don’t think the Council would take too well to that.”

Strange pinned her with a cool glare. “I’m not threatening you. I’m just telling you what’s going to happen from here on out. I will not hesitate to defend my Little, and I can guarantee that you will not like what happens if you push me too far. Tony may have leniency towards you. I don’t.” He smiled unpleasantly. “And if you think, Miss Maximoff, that you are strong enough to fight me, you’re not. If I find out that you’ve been trying to mess around in Tony’s mind again out of some misguided attempt at revenge, you’ll find that out firsthand.”

Maximoff flushed red, though whether it was from rage or being called out, Peter wasn’t sure. None of them looked pleased; Rogers and Romanov in particular wore ferocious scowls. It was Romanov who spoke, though.

“Tony, don’t let him do this. We’re your family,” she said.

Oh hell no. “You’re not his family!” Peter burst out furiously. “You’re nothing more than a bunch of back-stabbing business associates who can’t take a hint.”

“That’s exactly right,” said Strange. “Now it’s not a hint. You’ve been told. Stay away from Tony, or you won’t like what happens next.”

He turned, his cloak billowing impressively around his shoulders, and moved back to Tony and Peter. He ushered them both of the room and left Rogers and his group behind. Peter took a lot of satisfaction out of closing the door on their stupified faces. He was pretty sure that wasn’t the last of it – they were all way too stubborn for that – but for the time being, it felt really good.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Tony said almost immediately.

“Yes, I did. You’re my Little, Tony. It’s my duty to protect you, and I take that very seriously,” Strange said. 

Tony’s face kind of collapsed, and Peter hastily looked away. He caught Strange’s eye and saw the man nod towards the nearest door; Peter nodded back and quickly opened the door, letting Strange guide Tony into the room. As he shut the door, he saw Strange pulling Tony into a hug and Tony burying his face in Strange’s chest. It made Peter feel warm from head to toe. Finally, someone was on Tony’s side. Someone was giving Tony the help and affection he so badly needed.

 _Finally_.

He gently shut the door and stood in front of it, crossing his arms. If Rogers, Romanov, Barton, Wilson and Maximoff had an ounce of sense, they’d take the other exit and not have to pass by this way. Since Peter couldn’t be sure those five had even that much sense, he’d gladly guard the door until Tony and Strange were ready to come out. He could, and would, give Tony that much.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [tumblr](http://tsuki-chibi.tumblr.com/).


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